Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Part I Ignatius of Loyola
- Part II European Foundations of the Jesuits
- Part III Geographic and Ethnic Frontiers
- 9 The Jesuit enterprise in sixteenth-and seventeenth-century Japan
- 10 Jesuits in China
- 11 The Jesuits in New France
- 12 Racial and ethnic minorities in the Society of Jesus
- Part IV Arts and Sciences
- Part V Jesuits in the Modern World
- Select bibliography
- Index
12 - Racial and ethnic minorities in the Society of Jesus
from Part III - Geographic and Ethnic Frontiers
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 September 2008
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Part I Ignatius of Loyola
- Part II European Foundations of the Jesuits
- Part III Geographic and Ethnic Frontiers
- 9 The Jesuit enterprise in sixteenth-and seventeenth-century Japan
- 10 Jesuits in China
- 11 The Jesuits in New France
- 12 Racial and ethnic minorities in the Society of Jesus
- Part IV Arts and Sciences
- Part V Jesuits in the Modern World
- Select bibliography
- Index
Summary
The first Jesuits were committed in theory to admitting all qualified men, regardless of lineage. In practice, however, Jesuit unanimity concerning admissions was fragile. The principle of ignoring lineage in admitting new members to the Society was enshrined in the Constitutions and upheld - with a handful of exceptions - throughout Ignatius' life. Jesuits were among the most vocal and effective opponents of statutes of “purity of blood” (limpieza de sangre), which required that candidates for a wide range of civil and ecclesiastical positions throughout the Iberian world prove that they were from Old Christian families. Opposition to limpieza among the first Jesuits was rooted in Ignatius' insistence on inclusiveness and on unity within the Society. It was strengthened by the Jesuits' pastoral ideals and above all by their concern that their mission work in Europe and throughout the Iberian empires proceed free of challenges to the validity of conversion. After the death of Ignatius, however, Jesuit unity was threatened from many quarters. The most sustained threat came from Spain and Portugal in the form of opposition to the admission of Christians of Jewish descent - known as New Christians - to the Society. Throughout the sixteenth century, however, Jesuits debated the admission of a wide range of other minorities.
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- Information
- The Cambridge Companion to the Jesuits , pp. 199 - 214Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008
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